


The Star - The Anthology

by AzuraJae



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Tragedy, Anthology, Anthology with a Different Character each chapter, Bittersweet, Bittersweet Ending, Character Death, Could be considered a 'bad end' to the star ending?, Cyberpunk 2077 Spoilers, F/F, Gen, Goodbye V; You've fought hard., Grief/Mourning, Multiple Perspectives, Sad Ending, Street Kid V (Cyberpunk 2077), Tarot, The Star ending, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:40:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28576140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzuraJae/pseuds/AzuraJae
Summary: It's been several years since Arasaka Tower had been ransacked by a clan of Nomads and a particular Night City merc left their city behind. They had hoped to buy more time, just a little while longer.But time never stops. And now the world needs to learn to say goodbye to one particular merc.[An anthology series]
Relationships: Goro Takemura & Female V, Goro Takemura & V, Judy Alvarez & Panam Palmer, Judy Alvarez/Female V, Misty Olszewski & V, Misty Olszewski/Jackie Welles, Panam Palmer & Female V, Panam Palmer & Mitch Anderson, V & Jackie Welles, V & Viktor Vector
Comments: 44
Kudos: 230





	1. The Star

When time finally came to claim who she held most dear, Judy thought she’d be more distraught, that she would kick and scream; be _angry._ But instead, there was just this silent void that sucked her emotions dry. Empty, numb, that’s what she felt. It was a different feeling than with Evelyn. It felt like she was staring at herself through a cam or something.

It didn’t feel real.

“Hey, how are we feeling?” 

Judy turned her head slightly to see Panam pulling herself onto the roof of the truck. Judy herself had climbed onto here earlier under the guise of a smoke, but honestly Judy didn’t even feel like doing that. A smoke, or even the strongest vodka alive wasn't going to mask the sheer cold loneliness she felt. Instead, she just occupied herself with taking in the wide expanse of the night sky, somehow empathizing with the desolation.

“Honestly? Not much.” she told Panam honestly, who took a seat next to her. “Thought I’d be more angry, but...jus’ don’t feel anything now.”

Panam sighed, pulling up one of her knees and propped her right arm on it. The nomad squeezed her hands together as her face tightened. “I keep feeling that we could have done more. It did _not_ feel like we…” She shook her head in exasperation.

“Like it or not, guess it wasn’ really something we could keep running from.” said Judy bitterly, looking at her fiddling hands. “Maybe we should be lucky she lived for a couple more years.”

“I guess.” Though Panam didn’t sound convinced. She tried to smile. “At least...she had us with her when she...left.”

“It woulda been better if she didn’t go like this.” mumbled Judy, leaning her head in her arms. Her eyes began to water a little. “I-I... _why_ did this happen to her, Panam? She’s a good person a-and...it’s not _fair._ ”

“I wish I knew, Judy. Wish I knew.” Panam answered, her own voice tight with grief. She took big shaky breaths “I’m going for a walk. Talk to you later.”

“Yeah.”

Panam dropped down from the truck, stumbling a bit as she touched down. As Judy watched her turn away, she saw her shoulder shaking as she brought one hand up to her face. It didn’t take a pair of Kiroshi specs to see that she was crying. Honestly, Judy knew what she was going through. She had been close too, best friends maybe. Admittedly, sometimes Judy felt jealous of their friendship, but at the end of the day, she was still the apple of V’s eye.

As the name fluttered through her mind, Judy felt tears beginning to drip from her eyes. The true tragedy of what happened began to sit in as Judy felt herself begin to unravel. 

V had been a fighter, a true one. Despite her deteriorating health, she fought through and through, and lasted a lot longer that anyone could have expected. They got some treatment from some old ripperdoc in Arizona, and with medication she lived an additional two years on top of the six months she had initially been diagnosed with. But in the final few months of her life, it seemed clear that V wasn’t going to last much longer. It got to a point where she couldn’t even stand on her own.

Her last few weeks alternated between a bed and a wheelchair. The once strong powerful merc now looked so frail and weak. No matter how much they tried to get her system up and running again, she just never recovered.

Judy did her best to be there for her output, but honestly it was hard. She lost her temper a lot, and kept insisting to V that things would be okay. Inside, she knew that V knew what was _really_ up. Maybe she was trying to convince herself that it was just a phase and that V would be in tip top shape after a while, to cope with the inevitable. V always seemed so strong, even to the tragic end, it made Judy believe that there might have been a way. 

V finally lost the battle a few days ago. She hadn’t even been conscious when it happened. No blaze of glory, no touching final speech. V just quietly slipped away in her sleep, all the while Judy had been holding her hand. No matter how much she called out her, V never answered again. She couldn’t hear her anymore. 

When she had been declared dead, Judy felt a different kind of distress and disturbance. Much different than when Evelyn died in the past. She wanted to scream, but nothing came out. Judy felt tired, empty. Honestly, V had been barely awake in the last weeks leading up to her death. If she was lucid, she had trouble speaking and often had trouble recognizing surroundings as well as the people around her. It was hard for her, not to remember, to be a shell of her former self. Even if Judy _hated_ the idea, it seemed that the real V died a long time ago; it just took a little while longer for her body to catch up.

“ _Fuck._ ” Judy swore, feeling the tears truly start to roll down her face now. “Fuck _this._ I-I can’t…”

Interlacing her fingers, Judy just clutched her hands together as hard as she could. Maybe, she thought, if shut her eyes hard enough, it would feel like V was still holding her hand. 

She spent a while, crying alone on that truck. Judy was certain a couple of the other clan members had stopped by, but they didn’t bother her. There wasn’t really anything they could say to make her feel better. Panam might’ve passed by again, but not for long; she seemed to be grieving in her own way. 

After a couple hours, Judy just felt spent and decided to return to her tent. There was no point to sitting up there anymore, should prolly get some sleep. Dragging her feet, Judy managed to stumble her way into the tent she once shared with V. The trudge back had been hard enough, but upon seeing the bed empty, Judy felt herself collapse to the ground. 

“ _V…”_ Judy ended up curling herself on the ground, pulling herself into the corner as she tried to ride out the influx of grief and pain. “ _Why_ did you have to-” she choked out quietly. 

Angrily, she punched the little container with the mirror nearby, causing it to fall to the ground. The mirror came crashing to the ground, but something chipped and fell off. Realizing what she’d done, Judy gingerly began to pick up the pieces, but realized it wasn’t a broken piece at all. 

It was a shard. Not just any shard. A _BD_ shard.

There was a piece of tape on it, suggesting that it had been taped to the mirror prior to being knocked down. The tears slowed a bit as Judy turned over the shard in her hands. She saw a little heart drawn on one side, sighed with the letter ‘V’.

It took a moment for Judy to realize what she was looking at. Her heart jumped and she scrambled to her feet to look for her reader. Judy frantically looked for it, before finally finding it discarded on the ground near her equipment stash. She quickly slotted the chip in and was about to put it on, but she froze.

She didn’t even know what she was going to see in the shard, or even if it _really_ was for her. Judy was honestly terrified about what she may find in it, but at the same time, she was so desperate to see what’s inside, it _hurt._

Swallowing nervously, Judy sat down on the bed and put on the reader and activated it. There were flashes of bright lights before suddenly she was taken to the world trapped inside that shard.

When Judy became aware of the world around her, the first thing she felt was the excruciating pain near her heart. The pain was almost deafening, it was paralyzing. Had V felt like this the whole time? Judy got ticked at the idea, but calmed down shortly after. V probably didn’t play up the pain any more than she needed to, all it did was made Judy and the others worry. Her eyes finally adjusted and she was surprised to find that she was staring at V. Or rather, V was staring at a mirror. She looked a lot healthier than she did before her death, suggesting that this was recorded a while back. It was sort of humbling, to see V she remembered so fondly looking back at her, just like she was alive again.

“Hey, Judy.” She said softly, with a smile on her face, right at the mirror.

The moment she heard that, Judy knew that she was crying again in the real world, but the tears were a little different this time. Melancholy? Relief? Grief? A mix of all, maybe. But seeing V calling her name like that, acting like the V she remembered? It was almost too much. 

“When you get this, I might already be…” Her voice trailed off as she shook her head slightly, with a distressed smile. “...I might not be around anymore.” Her voice cracked as V began to tear up a little. “I jus’ wanted to leave something behind for you. Been hard to r’mber stuff lately, feels like everything is... slipping away. I just...- _Fuck_...huh, not even sure what to say.” 

V chuckled as fresh tears began appearing on her face. Besides the sharp knife-like pain Judy felt from V’s chest, the grief she was feeling was just as bad, if not worse. Through this, it was easy to tell that V had already accepted her fate long before anyone else did, even Judy. That really stung.

“I guess...what I wanted to say is,” V swallowed as she continued. “...Thank you. For everything. The time we spent together; never thought I’d be this happy. My _whole_ life, I thought I was doomed as a merc chasing eddies in a city that didn’t care. All I wanted was to tell the world I mattered...but all that paled when I thought about my life, with _you,_ Judy. _Y_ _ou,_ made me feel like I mattered.”

She rubbed her face with her hands, doing her best to give the mirror a big smile. “I wish...I had better things to say to you, Judy. Know this is gonna hurt you later...so take care of yourself, okay? Don’t be afraid of tryin’ something new ‘cus of me. You do you, Judy.” The last part of the sentence barely came out. V shook her head slightly as the tears just began to roll down her face again despite her best efforts. 

“Judy, I might have only been a small part of your life,” V started, beginning to sob a little more. “But wanna let you know, you were _my_ whole life.” With great effort, V looked up at the mirror with a one last tragic, big smile on her face. 

“Goodbye, Judy. I love you.”

Just as easily as it had started, V’s face vanished. Then BD was over and Judy found herself sitting back on the bed, the tears just streaming out at this point. Right now, she was flooded with V’s emotions, her emotions. She knew that V meant what she said, these were the rawest type of emotions out there.

“You _idiot!_ ” shouted Judy, holding the reader and the shard in her hands. “V, you _damn_ idiot!” She cried out again, but Judy felt her lips curl up in happiness. Her knuckles turned white as she clutched the shard close to her heart. “...I love you too.” She breathed. “V... _I love you too_.” 

Judy must have mumbled the same thing over and over, holding that damn shard as close to her as she could. She had been in so much pain before, Judy wasn’t sure if she could make it through the day, but..the peace she felt after experiencing V’s last braindance...made it all easier to handle. Even though she was already long gone, V was still comforting her as always.

Over the next few days, Judy analyzed the braindance with a fine-tooth comb. She managed to figure out that V had recorded almost half a year ago, back when V was really starting to feel her health deteriorate. It seems like V had been planning to leave a message like this for her for a while, especially since she was losing her mind so fast. After going through the braindance a few times, Judy figured out that V had been afraid that she would forget the people around her, so she had recorded this braindance before things got worse. 

Actually, V had left messages for all her friends, all stored in her inbox that Judy now had access to. In her messages, V had also left a note to her to please send the messages out when she was finally gone. At the request of her girlfriend’s wishes, Judy made sure all the messages made it to the right people. One of them was for Panam. She didn’t know what Panam’s message was about, Judy didn’t feel like reading it, but Panam was _so_ angry when she had read the message from V at first, but then broke down into tears upon reading it the second time. Like how she felt with her braindance, Panam looked a lot better in the days following.

The clan had stopped by Night City soon after. Some old friends gathered around and held a pretty big party for V. A _ton_ of people showed up, a lot of them being people that V helped. Meeting them sort of opened Judy’s eyes a little. She had loved V, sure, but she didn’t know how many people owed their lives to her. Fixers, clients, even just people who met her once on the street, they all came to the Afterlife bar to celebrate V.

Honestly, Judy had been apprehensive about returning, but after attending the funeral party, she knew that it had been a good decision to attend. 

V later was buried in a grave outside Night City. To be exact, it was on the other side of the opening where V first broke free from Night City. V hadn’t exactly been specific of where she wanted her body to end up, but it seemed right to leave her there to rest. 

Life was going to be different now. Honestly, Judy was a little worried about what’s going to happen, like if the Aldecados would even accept her now that V was gone. But her worries were unfounded it seems, as Panam made it clear that she had always been part of the family. Judy had tried to continue life with the nomads, but honestly it didn’t feel right without V there. Everyone was still friendly as always, still felt comfortable, but being there frazzled Judy sometimes.

It was like she was still expecting V to be there every which way she looked. Even though Judy still yearned for V time and time again, it was still pretty haunting to have past memories dog her every move.

After a month, after much deliberation, Judy decided it was time to leave and start her life again. 

Today, she had finally finished packing her things. Judy was going to take the old Shion that she and V shared while they traveled from place to place. Being her girlfriend, Judy ended up taking most of V’s stuff like clothes and whatnot, but left a few things behind for the clan too. Mostly V’s guns and techie stuff she didn’t need anymore, not much she was going to them anyway. She was in the process of making sure she had everything before she would finally leave when Panam appeared.

“You cut your hair.” Panam commented. “It looks great.”

“Oh, you noticed.” Judy said with a hint of sultry. “Thanks, thought I’d change it up.”

Judy had cut a bit of her side-cut so now it was much shorter than it was before. She had heard of people cutting their hair after breakups. Though it wasn’t until now that Judy realized that it wasn’t really the act of cutting your hair, but rather the process of changing your look that really made you feel better. 

“V would have liked to see you like that.” Panam pointed out, her lips trembling a bit as she said this.

“Yeah. She would’ve.” agreed Judy with a sad smile.

“...So, do you have a plan?” she asked after a pause.

“Think I might drop by to see my grandparents up north. Haven’t talked to them for a while.” Judy mused. “After that? Not sure, I’ll see then.”

“I see.” She paused for a moment. “...Are you really planning to leave?”

Judy met her gaze and sighed a little. “It’s not that I don’t like you guys, the clan’s the best...but…”

“Too many memories?”

“Yeah. Also, I think I need a fresh start.” Judy explained. “I don’t regret the time I spent with V and the clan, never will, but I just need something new.”

Panam looked like she wanted to object, to speak her mind and try to convince her to stay, but she instead just gave a small huff and tilted her head in thought for a moment. She looked at Judy. “Whatever you do, Judy. The Aldecados will always be your family, you’re welcomed back anytime.”

“Thanks, Panam.” thanked Judy. “Maybe I’ll take you up on that offer someday.”

Judy reached into her bag and pulled out a necklace, a quaint little shell, just big enough to put something in it. She then pulled out the shard with V’s last braindance on it from her back pocket. Judy opened it and felt a pang deep in her heart when she saw the image inside. It was V and her posing for a selfie together. 

The picture had been taken a long time ago, back when V was much healthier and active. They were having a sort of celebration for a successful gig, it was hard to remember properly under the mess of booze. Sometime through the night, V and Judy had taken this drunken pic together. V had been quite fond of this image in particular and had set it to her holo profile much to Judy’s amusement. It hurt to look back at memories like this, but Judy didn’t want to ever forget. 

“What’s that?” Panam asked, looking curiously at the necklace.

“Needed someplace safe to put this.” replied Judy softly, slotting the shard into the inside of the shell where it would be safe. She then put it on, letting the pendant rest close to her heart.

“Good idea.” 

For a moment the two just soaked in the silence. Judy looked back at the camp, where she saw many of the nomads gathering around the edges, probably to watch her leave. There was a strong sense of melancholy as Judy found herself trying to search the crowd for a familiar face. Of course, Judy didn’t find the one she was looking for, she was long gone after all.

“Is it time to go?” Panam was looking at her, crossing her arms a bit. 

“Yeah.” 

Suddenly, without warning, Panam reached over and gave Judy a hug. She was honestly a little surprised by the sudden skinship, more so that it didn’t really seem like Panam to do this,, but Judy found herself hugging her back. Judy wasn’t as close to Panam as V was, but they had become good friends over the years. They always didn’t see eye to eye, but honestly...Judy was going to miss Panam. The clan too. The life here she had, she was going to miss it all.

“Goodbye, Judy.” said Panam with a smile. “Take care.”

“You too, Panam.” Judy shot back. 

Panam nodded before taking a step back to give Judy some room. Judy threw the last of her bags into the backseat and was about the enter in, before she turned back to the camp, just one more time. As she did, some of the clan members began waving goodbye to her. Judy waved goodbye back briefly before finally getting into the car. She started the engine…

Then she was off.

As she sped away, into the desert of sand and dust, following the GPS route she had set for herself, Judy started to feel a crushing heaviness in her heart again. She began to tear up, the farther and farther she went, but Judy didn’t dare look back.

The sky was still dark, it was still very early morning after all. Among the darkness of the sky, Judy noticed that the stars were still out. After a moment, she noticed that there was a particularly bright star, twinkling gently. It was right above the direction she was heading. Judy could have sworn that the star wasn't there before. In fact, she's never really seen a star quite like it, ever. Upon really looking it, Judy instinctively reached over and touched her necklace. Somewhere, distant and far away, Judy felt her smile.

“So, that’s how it is, huh?” Judy whispered, clutching the necklace hard with one hand. She leaned back in her seat and turned on auto-pilot. “Lead the way then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The endings of Cyberpunk really did me a new one. I haven't broken down over an ending in a video game for a long time. Know the game was a lil' buggy, but I actually have like 200+ hours on the game and I'm still having a blast. I'm really happy that I ended up doing the Star ending with Judy, but there's still this air of tragedy around it all. Some folks found the endings too depressing, but I feel like they all were poetic ends.
> 
> Actually, I still believe that V will survive and we'll get DLC/Xpac content centered around the six months left to live. But I sort of wrote this fic to kinda pre-prepare in the event, despite it all, that V dies. It was written from Judy's perspective since I sympathize with her a lot and can tell that V's death is really going to hurt her a lot, even if it wasn't like the Reaper ending. Also because it was just interesting to write as Judy and to play around with a Panam friendship. I hope that DLC will expand more on the post-game and show is more friendships. Think they would be good friends, right?
> 
> I tried to keep V as vague as possible when I could, just so you can insert your incarnation of V into the story if you wish, though the only thing I did sort of cement that the V here is based off Streetkid V, but it's vague enough that you can interpret it as any of the life paths.
> 
> Ngl, I did tear up a bit when I was writing this. Man, it's all just so real frucked, I hope CDR decides to throw V a bone. Let this fanfic stay as fanon, please. Don't want any sort of this happening in canon.
> 
> Anyways, I hope anyone who reads this enjoys the story!


	2. The Chariot

“Watcha doing so early?”

Panam turned to see V approaching her, yawning. She looked like she had just woken up from sleep. The ex-NC merc came over and leaned against the one of the nearby, looking at what she was currently doing.

“Organizing inventory, checking logistics, managing the teams, y’know, the fun stuff.” Panam explained, slumping on her arm as she went through the info on the datapad.

“Right, ‘ _fun_ ’ stuff.” chuckled V. “Need some help?”

“Nah, might be boring as hell, but I can at least manage _this_ without your help.” She turned to look at her friend. “It’s still a few clicks to sunrise, you should head back to sleep.”

“Can’t sleep. Thought I get some chow for me and the missus, can’t miss her morning coffee.” V scratched her head sleepily. “Gonna work on the car too, some of that sandstorm got in the engine last run.”

“Oh, looks like you got your day planned. Hop to it then.”

“Still have time to help though, if ya need it.”

“Yeah, yeah. _Git_ , you. I’ll holler if I need you.” Panam smiled, happy for V’s offer, even if she wasn't going to take it today. Even though she wasn’t acting like it, V had been pretty sluggish lately. It would seem mean to dump more work on ‘er if she wasn’t feeling well.

“Of course, your _majesty._ ” V jibbed back, getting up from where she'd be leaning, shooting Panam a mock dirty glare.

"Screw you."

Her friend began walking away and that’s when Panam realized that something wasn’t quite right. Startled by the thought, she stood up and turned to look at V, who was walking towards the tent's exit. There was just this odd, haunting feeling. Something just wasn’t right. 

“...V?” Panam called out. At the sound of her voice, V turned back to look at her. 

Even though Panam was certain she was looking at V’s face, the light from the cracks of the tent illuminated her in such a way that she couldn't’ see her expression, but Panam knew she was smiling at her.

“ _I_ _’ll see you later, Panam_.”

It felt like a cold rush just overcame her and Panam found herself reaching after V, but instead of stepping forward, Panam ended up jolting herself out of her bed. Bewildered and shaken, Panam sat up, trying to remember what had happened. She glanced at the clock on the table and saw that it was still super early in the morning. About 3AM, way earlier than she had intended to wake up. 

She still felt uneasy about it all and she stood up, deciding to go check on V. But she froze halfway out the entrance of her tent.

_Oh._

That’s right. V’s dead.

The realization sickened Panam to her core and she ended up stumbling back onto her bed, cold sweat breaking out. How did she...forget? The shock of forgetting about her friend’s death seemed more damaging than the tears that followed. 

Honestly, Panam didn’t think she would take V’s death as hard as she was now. She liked to think of herself as a toughie, she didn’t even cry as hard when it came to mourn the clan members they lost in that Arasaka raid. Sure, she knew what was coming, what was going to happen to V eventually, but Panam had sort of put her feelings off when it came to addressing it. For some reasons, she thought she could just deal with the whole ordeal when the time came. 

If only she knew how wrong she was.

For the longest time since V’s death, Panam just...couldn’t accept what happened. She had _promised_ V that they would find a way to help her get better, that she got a whole life ahead of her. She _promised_ V these things, but… how did it go so wrong? The treatment from that ripperdoc had worked, for the longest time it did, why did it suddenly stop?

While Panam knew that she was still hurt over this, she really shouldn’t be the one the most torn over it all. Judy was going through such a difficult time, she cried for days after V took her last breath. There was no way the grieving process was going to be easy for her, especially after what she told her about what happened to her deceased best friend, Evelyn. 

But suddenly, after one morning, Judy came out of her tent with a peaceful look on her face. Her eyes were still red from crying, sullen and tired, but in a way she looked rejuvenated. Panam found out later that V had left her a last goodbye message. It took her a few days to take it all in, but Judy certainly looked better. Panam was happy for Judy, she really was, she was glad that she was finding the right steps to make it feel better. But it frustrated Panam that she couldn’t find that same peace Judy had found. 

No matter how much time she spent mulling over what happened, she just couldn’t get over it. She’s experienced the death of many friends in the past years, but it didn’t hurt as much as it now. It was different this time, and she didn’t know _why_. Even Saul’s death didn’t make her react this way. 

Panam shook her head free of the thoughts after a moment. She considered laying back down in bed and trying to get a few more winks, but her mind was abuzz, fat chance she was going to get _any_ sleep like this. The nomad ducked out of her tent and headed straight for the bar to grab a beer. She was alone like that for a long time, sipping mindlessly as she turned over the myriad of ‘what if’’s in her brain.

The sound and sight of someone coming to sit in the seat in front of her caused Panam to jump. She had been so lost in her thoughts, she didn’t even see or hear Mitch approaching. 

“Hey, Panam.” A grizzled older man slid into the seat in front of her with a smile. “Mind if I join ya?”

“Go ahead.” Panam muttered passively with a slight nod of the head. 

Mitch took a huge swig of the beer he had in his hand, taking a satisfied sigh at the end of it. “Nothing like a cold one, eh? ‘Specially in the morning, makes it all go down smoother.”

“Sure.” She tapped her finger impatiently. Mitch seemed to be watching her, which ticked her off. “Are you here to just chug drinks in front of me or do you have something to say?”

“Caught me.” Mitch said, amused, gesturing with his hands in a surrender pose. “Came to talk things out with ya, looked like you needed it.”

“I am not that much of a wreck…” Panam angrily replied, but the uncertainty crept in. “..am I?”

“Honestly? You’ve been scaring half the daylights out of the clan members these days. Course, everyone’s understanding, but we’re worried.” Mitch took a sip of his beer again.

“Let me guess, they single you out to talk to me?” Panam narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, feeling angry again.

“Nah, came to talk to you myself.” corrected Mitch. He shifted his position and leand forward, giving Panam a serious, but sincere look. “Panam, know it’s hard...with V gone and all that. But it’s alright to take time to grieve, talk things out. It makes things easier, trust me.”

Panam twirled her bottle of beer. “I know, Mitch. I know….I just thought I’d be strong enough for this.” She admitted after a moment.

“It’s never easy when you lose your best friend.” Mitch stated, looking down into his bottle, a distant look in his eyes.

Panam blinked. “Best friend?” 

“Don’t tell me you never noticed?” Mitch looked surprised, but at the same time he didn’t. His face was hard to read. “You two were a dynamic duo, battle buds, a tag-team. Sure, V might’ve hadda a gal for her other half, but there wasn’t a single person in this clan who didn’t see you guys as one.”

“I…” Panam trailed off, the revelation suddenly bringing clarity to the distraught she was feeling. “V was just always there, I could count on her; she could count on me. She always had _something_ to say. It was just...fun being with her.”

“That’s just what BFFs are..” Mitch gave her a knowing smile. “Never easy to get one, tough as hell to lose one.”

“My best friend...huh…” Panam looked uncertain. “Did V see it that way?”

“There was no way she didn’t.” assured Mitch. “I can guarantee it with a _hundred_ percent.”

Panam gave him an incredulous look, a hint of humor in her words. “You don’t give out your hundred percents that easy. Must be serious.”

“You know I am.” Mitch took a huge gulp of his beer.

Approaching footsteps made Panam alert and she straightened herself up to see who was coming over. When she saw it was Judy, she relaxed her shoulders a bit and clutched her beer.

“Judy?” Panam asked, she was surprised to see her awake. But judging from the bags under Judy’s eyes, it wouldn't be that hard to guess that she hadn’t been sleeping well. She might’ve found peace and a way forward, but the pain would never really go away, not completely.

“Hey, Panam, I was sorting through V’s things, y’know, uh... cleaning house.” Judy’s voice hitched on V’s name, but she swallowed bravely. “V left a message for you. Just sent it to your inbox.”

“A message? For me?” The nomad repeated, eyes widening. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Left a whole bunch of them actually, for a ton of people.” Judy sounded amused. “Was going through and sendin’ them all. Thought I should let you know personally.” She gave Panam a smile.

“Oh…thanks.” Panam took out her phone and sure enough, there was indeed a message in her inbox. 

“Take your time, I’ll leave you to it.” With a small wave, Judy turned to walk away.

Panam was left there looking a little lost, staring at the blinking notification icon on her phone. She was apprehensive of what she was going to find in the message. Just looking at the name listed on the notification sent waves of pain and regret through her.

“Aren’t you going to read it?” Mitch gestured to the phone, beer in one hand as he took a small sip. 

“Yeah, I _am._ ” Panam snapped back, her nerves getting the better of her.

“Need some space?” offered Mitch.

She tucked some loose hair behind her ear. “No, you can stay. Think I need someone here.”

Mitch nodded silently, looking intently at her. After giving herself a moment to prepare, Panam finally picked up her phone again and pressed the notification icon. 

_‘Hey, Panam. Bet you’re beating yourself up over this, You know, me dying. I know you well enough to know that you’re probably angsting about how you never fulfilled your promise to me. But y’know, you_ **_did._ ** _You gave me a second chance when I needed it the most. I was ready to die in six months, but you gave me two more years. The best two years of my life. Thanks, for that. I know you’ll continue to do great things without me. I_ **_know_ ** _, you’re my best friend after all. Take care of the family for me. See ya around, partner._  
 _  
_\- V

_P.S. I’ll be sure to tell Saul about much better of a leader you are :P’_

“Oh, _V._ ” Panam muttered, the regret coming back full force. She just _missed_ talking with her. Even if this was just a little message like this, a remnant from the past, Panam was just...so _happy_ to talk to her again.

In a way, that just made her angry. She slammed her fist on the table, feeling the tears start to rolling again. Panam covered his face with one hand, leaning against the table. Gritting her teeth, the words in the message began to resonate with her. She knew that she ought to honor V’s wishes, to say goodbye to her and move on, but... _she just couldn’t._

After a moment of angry-crying, she noticed Mitch staring at her with a sympathetic look.

“Spit it out.” Panam ordered, her voice tight with grief.

“It’s going to be tough with V gone and it’s sad that she had to go out like this.” he said softly, his usually gruff voice gentle. “But look back, Panam. Your paths might’ve only crossed for a but a moment, but aren’t you glad you met?”

She looked at him, somewhat stunned by the words. Then she leaned over on her arms, grinning slightly as she looked to the table in front of her. Panam shook her head, wiping away the tears with her hand.. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world...how could I?”

Feeling finally overwhelmed by her own emotions, Panam finally broke down and started crying again. She just missed V so much, it hurt her so much to know that she’d have to live in a future where V wouldn’t be there by her side. That she wouldn’t be there to help her with the clan work, or just to talk. _Fuck,_ she would do anything just to talk to her again. She felt awful right now...but, she wouldn’t trade her short friendship with V for anything.

She might’ve only known V for three years, but it felt like they had been friends for a lifetime. It was difficult to say goodbye, but there was no way in hell that Panam was ever going to regret it.

Panam was probably crying for a few hours, she didn’t keep track, but when her tears finally started clearing up, the morning sun had already started painting the sky with it’s first few streaks of sunlight. Mitch was still in front of her, on his third bottle of beer, sitting with her patiently. Even if he didn’t say anything, Panam appreciated his presence. When she calmed down somewhat, Mitch spoke up.

“You know. Got one too.”

She gave him a confused look.

“A message. She sent me one too. Told me to look out for her best friend.” confessed Mitch. Panam’s expression immediately softened. “She’s a good egg, gonna miss her.”

“Gonna miss her like _hell_.” 

At that moment, Panam’s phone popped to life. For one strange moment, Panam thought that it might’ve been V messaging her again. She wasn’t sure _why_ she thought this, especially since she’s been angsting about her death this whole time, but it was like this little part of her just wanted her to be alive again. Panam couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed when she saw the message was from Judy instead. 

_‘Forgot to mention. V also left a couple things for you. Dropped it off in your tent.’_ Judy texted.

Panam stared at the message for a moment, unsure what to think. But once it clicked in her head, she abruptly got up from her seat. “She _left_ me something.”

As she was going, Mitch spoke again, breaking her thoughts and stopping in her place. The nomad turned to meet her friend’s eyes and saw that it was filled with nothing but a gentle look, shadowed slightly by an ancient grief.

“Y’know, Panam. Gonna be honest with you.” Mitch started. “When we lost Scorpion a few years back, it hurt more than any bullet wound could. I missed that bastard a lot.” He paused for a moment, looking off into the ground nearby before continuing. “But now? I only miss him sometimes.”

Hearing this, Panam found her gaze trailing the ground. She wanted to be angry, at what Mitch said, but there was truth to those words. Giving him a short, curt nod, Panam hurried over to her tent to see what was there. 

She practically burst through the tent’s entrance and her eyes quickly began scanning around for the things Judy mentioned. Panam finally spotted what she was looking for, a box on the table near the bed. She reached over and picked the box up, putting it on her lap as she took a seat on her dusty bed.

The first thing Panam noticed upon looking at the contents was a familiar looking handgun. With no hesitation, she picked up and turned the gun over in her hands. She recognized it, she saw V use it all the time, one of her favorite firearms. A Malorian Arms if she remembered correctly. She even did this flashy reload trick that she loved to do when she was drunk and wanted to show off. The memory made Panam laugh a little. A fun little memory she would grow to treasure in the future.

The next thing she noticed was a key. To be specific, it was a motorcycle key. It didn’t take long for Panam to realize that it was probably V’s bike, the one she modded out for the rough road. While it was in good shape and kept up with the other bikes in the sand, it still had that leftover city stench that was hard to get rid of. Attached to the key was a colorful note, written in handwriting she grew to recognize in a heartbeat. There were other things in the box, but honestly the note attracted Panam’s attention more than the other things did. 

_‘Thought you should have these. The gun had belonged to a good friend of mine. It’s my favorite gun, so I know you’ll take care of it. Also, tossed in the keys to my ARCH. It was actually Jackie’s, but won’t need it anymore. He would’ve wanted you to have it, but_ **_don’t_ ** _scratch it. He’d kill me (haha)._

_Thanks for the second chance at life. Now go live yours.’_

Panam smiled softly, clutching the edges of the box. Perhaps she wanted to cry, but honestly all Panam felt was warmth. This last gift...it really touched her. V might not be around anymore, these last things won't ever feel the deep space left behind by her footsteps, but having these things...it’ll make it a lot easier.

“What made you think I wanted your damn modded _city_ bike?" Panam shook her head with a smile. "Heh, you _know_ the sand will get into them both, if it hasn't already.” She squeezed the edges of the note, tears making wet splotches on the dusty note. “But I’ll take care of them. You know I will….right? My dear, _best_ _friend._ " 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I wasn't expecting myself to continue this story at all. It seemed to tie up pretty nicely with Judy's leaving the Aldecados, but I sort of still felt...unfufilled? Judy wasn't the only person who cared tons about V. I ended up writing a few chapters around other characters, but I was having trouble figuring out if it would be appropriate for me to attach it to this fic or if it was better to just post a new fic entirely.
> 
> I decided ultimately to post this chapter as a continuation or rather, another perspective of the first chapter. This story centered around Panam. I really enjoyed Panam and V's friendship (even platonically). It's obvious that she saw V as part of her family, even before she formally became one. The way I see it, Panam sort of became the successor to Jackie's friendship with V. Not so much replacing who Jackie was, but she sort of came in and filled the void that Jackie left behind for V. I think it encapsulates it the best when Panam takes the time to honor Jackie when V honored Scorpion that one time. That really sealed the deal for me that Panam and V are best friends. I added Mitch here because I enjoy his character and I needed someone for Panam to play off of. It seems only fitting with Mitch honestly.
> 
> Seeing how she reacted in the Reaper ending, it felt like Panam would take a bit longer than Judy to accept the way things are, especially since I think she would feel responsible for being unable to extend V's quality of life like she hoped. I'm really guessing Panam wanted to find a way for V to live out her full life, but things don't really work out that way. I think V leaving Johnny's gun and Jackie's ARCH sort of concludes her character as V's best friend, at least in this story.
> 
> I actually have a few more additional fics in this series, or rather more accurately, an anthology all surrounding characters reacting to V's death. V had the opportunity to make a lot of friends over the course of the game. I just feel like it's also appropriate to talk about their reactions. So far, I have one centered on Viktor/Misty and a potential one with Rogue & the other fixers. Not sure if I want to share these since they don't really fit into the whole story? Or maybe it does because it was referenced in Judy's chapter. Maybe, if people are interested...
> 
> Well anyways, thanks for reading if you made it this far!


	3. Strength

Misty had gotten the news a few hours ago. Judy had dropped her line and delicately dropped the news over the holo. But honestly, Misty wasn’t all that surprised, she already had a feeling of what happened. 

One morning a few days ago, she had woken up in cold sweat from a dream. The dream wasn’t very significant, it was about the past, about a certain someone. In a small panic, Misty scrambled out of bed, took out her tarot deck and tried to check the tarot. What she pulled had already told her all she needed to know.

V had died.

Even though the news wasn’t particularly surprising, it was a lie to say that Misty wasn’t upset. She  _ knew  _ what was coming, what awaited V down the light, but Misty thought she had already made peace with it all, that when it finally happened she would be ready. She’s been with V since the beginning of her downfall, but still… she was sad. In reality, there was nothing that could really prepare her to really say goodbye to V, as much as she tried to pretend she did. 

It would have been nice, if she had a chance to talk to V, just  _ one  _ more time. Not to talk about tarots or work, just to  _ talk,  _ for old time’s sake. To reminisce about the past, about how things used to be. But even if she had asked, that final conversation wouldn’t have been possible. From what she knew from Judy and Panam, V was too sick to hold a conversation in the last few months of her life. She hadn’t even been aware she was even dying.

But despite the agonizing few weeks of her life on Earth, Misty was sure of one thing: that V was happy. Didn’t even need the tarots to tell her that. She could already tell from the pictures, texts, and voicemails she had exchanged with her. A joyous smile in a world where the sky touched the ground, where she was free. V might have not been aware what was going on in her final moments alive, but she would have been delighted to know that her death was nothing but peaceful, surrounded by the people above.

Even so, Misty was a little jealous, it would have been nice if she had been there too.

But life just doesn’t work that way sometimes. It took a little while for Misty to grow to accept this, but she decided that she was just going to have to make do with the final message V had left to her. Judy had forwarded the message to her soon after the holo meeting. It would never be as good as talking with V again, but it was pretty close. 

_ ‘Hey, Misty. If you’re reading this, it means that I’m long gone, but you might’ve already known that. I just wanted to say: thank you for being my friend. You gave me a lot of support when I needed it the most in a time where you needed support too. .You’re a true friend, Misty, I’ll never forget that. Take care of yourself, and Vik too. Old geezer should take a break sometimes. Give Nibbles a little pat for me, okay? I’ll tell Jackie you said hi. - V’  _

Reading the message again brought Misty to tears again. It sort of hurt knowing that these were V’s last words to her, that she would never read or hear her voice again. The last sentence hurt even more, once she realized that V and Jackie would be in the same place now, wherever they are. Misty tried to be happy, that V would be reunited with her best friend and that Jackie now had company, but it pained her when she realized that she was now here...alone.

V was more than just this, but Misty considered her one of the last living connections to Jackie. Of course, Mrs. Welles was still around; the kind, motherly woman who sort of ‘adopted’ her, but there was still a clear distinction between them. They weren’t really friends as much as they were just two people grieving over the same tragedy. V was sort of a living relic of the past, reminding her of simpler times where it was just the three of them, and Vik too, just living life. Now that V was gone, it was like a chapter of her life finally closed. It was going to be hard to let it all go, but Misty knew that she had to. V decided that too, when she left Night City. 

She sighed, closing her eyes and leaning her head back a little. 

Maybe one day, they could all hang out again. Just the three of them.

Now feeling melancholic, Misty took out her deck. As she shuffled, she was reminded of the time Jackie had gifted the deck to her. V had been there too and they watched her react with joy upon opening the present. It felt weird to think that now she was the only person alive who had these memories. 

She stopped shuffling finally and picked up the card, not really sure what she was expecting to find. Well, Misty  _ had  _ been thinking about V and Jackie, but she still wasn’t sure whose tarot she was actually doing. So when her eyes glanced over the Strength card in her hand, she was a little confused at first. The card didn’t really seem to describe V’s story, nor Jackie’s...but then, she realized.

Somewhere out there, they might have been reaching out to her. She could almost see their smiling faces as they turned to leave, waving goodbye.

Misty smiled, feeling her eyes water a bit. “Thank you...” She rubbed her eyes with her sleeves. “I’m  _ really  _ going to miss you guys.”

Turning the card in her hands a few more times, Misty gave that happy-sad breathy sigh and stood up, putting the deck away in her pouch. That chapter of her life was closed, she knew that both Jackie and V would’ve wanted her to move on. Now was something she still needed to do.

She had to let Vik know what happened. 

Double checking to make sure her store was secure, Misty left through the back door. On the way down the stairs, she spotted Nibbles wandering about. Upon seeing her, he meowed enthusiastically and came to rub his scaly skin on her leg. V had left the cat in her care when she left with the Aldecados. While Vik had been hesitant letting the thing around, they both had grown quite fond of it. When Misty opened the door to the clinic, the cat meowed and sprinted in. 

As always, the clinic was dimly lit and Viktor was tinkering with something as he watched the age-old boxing videos he was so fond of. Upon hearing her enter, Viktor turned to look at her in mild surprise. He had a pretty neutral look on her face, but once he met her eyes, his expression changed. The old doc seemed to have sensed that something was afoot. 

“I’m guessing you didn’t just come in here to talk about implants.” Vicktor commented, putting away the implant he had working on.

Misty pulled up a chair and sat down, in front of him, knowing that his was going to be a serious deep talk.

“Viktor…” Misty started, trying to sound as delicate as possible. “V’s...she’s passed away.”

A long silence.

“Oh…” He finally said, his face falling.

Misty could see the range of emotions that washed over Viktor’s face. Surprise, frustration, sadness; all in a few seconds. Finally he settled on a look that was a cross between pained and grief as he turned the volume down on the video he was watching. The echoes of the bitcrushed cheering crowd in the video echoed through the empty clinic. 

“Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later.” Vik said, his voice wavering ever so slightly. “Kid’s been on a timer since that first gig. Heh, it’s a miracle she’s lasted this long.” He was trying to brush it off, but Misty could tell that he was torn by the way he sagged in his chair and rubbed his face. He glanced to the empty operating chair, illuminated by a quiet dim light. 

Misty looked at him gently. “It’s okay to feel sad, to grieve. Just express yourself, it won’t do you any good to keep it all in.” Misty said, pulling up a chair and sitting down. She looked at him carefully.

“So…” Viktor swallowed. “Did she…”

“Peacefully, in her sleep.” assured Misty softly, picking up what she was worried about. He had been aware of V’s health the last few months alive after all. “Surrounded by friends and family.”

The old ripperdoc looked relieved and he gave a big sigh, practically melting into his chair at this point. “That’s good. Good. She deserved that at least.”

Misty nodded. “V actually left you a message.” Viktor’s eyes widened as she said this. “She left me one too, but I’ll give yours to you.” Her eyes glowed as she passed on the message to Vik’s computer.

“She didn’t have to.” Vik said as he sat up in his chair, rolling to his computer, but Misty could tell he was happy. He opened up his messages and began reading what was on it. 

Misty waited patiently as he read his message, reaching over to pet Nibbles, who had come over to seek attention from her. She watched Vik’s expression grow more and more emotional with each minute. By the time he had reached the end, even under the glasses, she knew that his eyes were wandering.

Viktor shaking his head, a big grin on his face, one hand covering his mouth. “The nerve of her.”

“What’d she say?” asked Misty.

He dropped his head and shook his head in disbelief, though his lips were pulled in a smile. “A ‘thanks’, told me to take care of myself. Even ‘donated’ some eddies as a sign of goodwill. Oh, and some copies of vintage recordings of boxing matches from back in the day. Got them from some backwater alley terminal in Arizona apparently.” Viktor pursed his lips together. “...At the end, you know what she called me?” 

Misty tilted her head, waiting for him to elaborate.

“She called me ‘Dad’, _heh._ Even if it was a joke, there’s no way I’d ever have a daughter that crazy in the head.” There was a hint of melancholy in his voice, no matter how hard Vik tried to sound annoyed. 

She let that sentence hang in the moment before she spoke her mind. “It didn’t look that way to me.” 

Viktor looked taken aback by her statement and gave her an ‘Are you serious?’ sort of face. He looked ready to object, but a various different stages of emotion flitted across his face, quickly erasing the initial irritation he felt. In the end, his face was something Misty would describe as ‘melancholic’. 

“Hmm. Well, maybe.” He said after a moment, deep in thought Vik leaned on his arm, propping himself up on the table. “I’m really gonna miss ya, kid.”

Realizing that Vik needed some time alone, Misty got up from her chair. “I’ll be back later. Let me know if you needed anything.”

Even as she turned to leave, Vik didn’t seem to acknowledge her leaving. He just continued staring at the message on the screen, his glasses hiding the emotion in his eyes. Nibbles hopped onto the table next to him, meowing at him. He stared at the moment at the straggling cat before smiling a bit, petting it. 

Just watching him made Misty’s eyes water again, but she decided to leave. She was relieved that Viktor seemed to be taking the time to accept it all. He was a gruffy man who would never really tell her how he felt about it all; Misty could get the ball rolling, it was up to him to come to terms on his own. But she had a good feeling Viktor would deal with it okay.

Misty reentered her shop, intending to take the day off for the next few days, but was surprised to see someone hovering near the shop’s entrance, peering through the glass. She met the person’s eyes and that’s when she realized, the woman wasn’t dressed like your typical NC resident. In fact, she was wearing a familiar jacket with a particular looking emblem emblazoned on her breast pocket. 

She was an Aldecado. 

Seeing this, Misty rushed towards the door and opened it for the visitor. “...Hello, do you need something?” She took another look at the emblem to make sure. “You’re from the Aldecados... right?”

“Yup. Name’s Ellie.” She introduced herself with a nod. She had a cardboard box under her arm and showed it to Misty. “I got a package for you.” She offered the box to her. 

“Oh...thank you.” Misty was bewildered, she wasn’t expecting anything like this. She took the box from the Aldecado who began to excuse herself. As she was turning, Ellie turned around and gave Misty a sad smile.

“Oh, um, my condolences.” And with that, she turned to leave.

Stunned, Misty watched Ellie meet up with another few clan members and they all disappeared around the corner. She stood there, agape, holding the box, but once the cogs in her head started turning, Misty rushed back inside. She brought the box to the countertop and inspected it.

It was just a plain ol’ box, nothing particularly stood out. But Misty’s heart was beating wildly, she already had a strong gut feeling about who had sent the package. Taking one big breath for courage, Misty delicately peeled away the tape that held it together and opened the box. 

That’s when she came face to face with a familiar dreamcatcher, one that was buried so far in the past that Misty had almost forgotten that she had even given it away. She had made this dreamcatcher long ago, during a different time. It hung from her apartment for the longest time, before she finally gave it to V, soon after the start of the merc’s troubles. 

It was still in good condition, maybe a bit dusty, as with everything in the box. Couldn’t be helped, it had traveled a long way in the Badlands after all. Holding in her hands, Misty was overwhelmed in past memories. Seeing this again just unearthed all her emotions she had neatly buried. She was  _ really  _ going to miss V.

She noticed that there was a note attached to the dreamcatcher and she plucked it carefully from where it had been attached.

_ ‘Thanks, Misty. I had a really nice dream :D’  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little shorter than the others, that's because I felt like Misty would've come to terms about V's death much quicker. She's been with V since the beginning of her struggles and had been the person V divulged her fears to, so she's had longer to tango with this all and knew how it was going to end. She's a kind and accepting person (I would honestly love to have her as a friend), so her chapter is also about helping Vik come to terms too (it's also the reason I picked this tarot for Misty). She's a person whose devotes her life to helping others, even though she may be feeling down too, and that's what makes her strong. It was sort of difficult to write for Vik, because he's a sort of gruff guy who doesn't really share his emotions a lot. But I know for sure at least, he really cared about V. I sort of headcanon that he saw V as a daughter (or son), even if he would never really admit it to her face. Otherwise, why would he go so far to help her without so much as a cent in return? I love their friendship, hope we see more of it honestly.
> 
> ALSO, cameo from Ellie, the Aldecado Panam named that actual one time LOL, I thought it would be fun to call back to that, to really make the story seem more 'canon', if that makes sense 8D
> 
> I don't think this chapter is as gutwrenching as the other two chapters, it's more...gentle? Flowy? Tried to follow Misty's pace. Not a sharp gut punch like with Judy or Panam, but a more melancholic view on it all. While I feel like I've written this chapter to the best of my ability, I'm still not sure I have the literary prowess to really bring this chapter to life. But I hope this will do, thank you for reading! I have a really interesting chapter with an interesting character for next time...


	4. The Hermit

If someone were to truly ask him how he felt about V’s passing, he wouldn’t say much. He felt no longing, no words to share for someone he felt slighted him in the end. Fact of the matter, she had ruined his _ one _ chance to make things right, and that angered him more than anything.

Takemura had only heard what happened to her through the grapevine, through murmurs and whispers in the street. The so-called ‘legendary’ solo had died out there in the desert, sick as a dog. She must’ve left quite a legacy, there wasn’t a street corner where her name wasn’t being spoken or honored in some way. He had even passed by some monks, one horribly disfigured by implants, mentioning her in passing while walking on the street. It irritated Takemura to no end, to see her imprinted on the very walls of a place he was now forced to inhabit, cut off from the world he had known so well.

As he sat, in the small pocket of greenery that still lasted despite the egregious pollution, he thought back to the final words he had sent to her; the angry voicemail. She had never replied to it, at least at first, but he knew that she had opened the hate filled message. Though, Takemura never expected a reply, he had merely sent it to deal with tarnished nerves and a boiling fury, but it would be months later where he would suddenly receive a reply. A few months before the whispers of her death started, had she sent it while she was alive?

_ ‘Things didn’t turn out the way you wanted, but I won’t say sorry. I made my decision, one that I will never regret. You’re mad at me, but I cut your ties right? I know because I did the same. But I wonder - will you still be an obedient little corpo lapdog, or will you finally understand what freedom means? Goodbye, Goro. Be safe, for old time’s sake.’ _

The message infuriated him more than anything. The fact that she laced the end of the message with goodwill in words that was nothing but a sharp-tongued reply reopened old wounds. In a way, it was pitiful, V was likely trying to tie up loose ends in a fading life. Did she really expect forgiveness, a happy-go-lucky reply? A thanks for severing his life like this? He should’ve blocked her number a long time ago.

What did V really mean, by sending a message like this?

“You are deeply troubled. A confused mind will not be able to have a clear perspective.” 

Takemura, surprised, turned to look at the new voice speaking to him. On his left on the bench was a wizened old Buddhist monk, sitting down next to him. The monk matched his gaze with a kind, but firm smile. It was almost like he was boring a hole right into Takemura’s soul.

“It may be that I am.” admitted Taekmura, wringing his hands. “But that is not of concern to you.”

The monk nodded gravely. “In your eyes, I am not needed. But I only come to people who need help.”

“Does it look like I need help?” he asked, a genuine question. 

Sure, he was a little rough around the edges, but two years changed a lot. He’s on his own two feet right now, without Arasaka. A weird feeling nonetheless, but he’d like to think that he was something now.

The monk breathed deeply, putting his hands before him in a calm pose. He looked at Takemura again with a mystic air of authority. “The worst part about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies.”

“ _ Heh _ , are you suggesting that V and I were-” He cut himself off before he could reveal too much, glowering at the monk. “How is it that you know this?”

“It is written on your face.” The monk exclaimed calmly, unaffected by Takemura’s iciness. “But perhaps accepting the friendship is the most difficult part for you.”

Now fully invested in the conversation, Takemura turned to the monk in indignation, growling slightly. “We worked together, nothing more. Our paths merely intersected for a time before she took a path that clashed with mine.There was no friendship that came from this.”

“Does that viewpoint help you accept what happened?” asked the monk carefully, not meeting his gaze. “While we can control our connections to others to an extent, ultimately, it is difficult to control how we _ feel _ about those connections, whether we have treasured them or removed them from our lives.”

Frustrated, Takemura flexed his hands, looking down at them. “I do not know what your goal is,  _ sõryo-san _ . Forgive me if I find it difficult to believe your words.”

“I am only here to help you, to offer you advice.” The monk said simply. “But ultimately, the unrest in your heart is your battle to fight.” He paused for a moment, taking in the scenery before them. “What you choose to believe now will determine and change how you will perceive the past. When that decision is made, the future will follow.”

“It is not so simple.” he countered, looking away indignantly, somewhat annoyed by the advice being given to him.

“You are right, it is not.” agreed the monk. “But it is one that you will have to make, less you let it eat at your soul until nothing is left.”

Frustrated, Takemura turned to look at whatever zen master was trying to preach to him...

But he was gone.

He blinked, suddenly unsure if the interaction was all an elaborate hallucination on his part. Maybe he had gone mad and had conjured up whatever was convenient for him. But whether that was true or not, the words of the monk burned into his head. 

Was what he was feeling  _ really  _ betrayal? Was the reason he was so troubled over the news of V’s death because that there was a point in time where they were...friends?

Looking back, it was easy to point out points in their time together where Takemura had shared more about his past than he did with anyone else, even more than Oda or his own family. Maybe he felt that his thoughts and perception of the world would be safe in the mind of a dying woman. Or was V simply a convenience outlet to air all his grievances with the world? Even if he was uncertain of why he even told V these things, at the end, V still listened and they had what Takemura considered an insightful conversation.

They rarely saw eye to eye, there were a lot of things that they butted heads and bickered in. She seemed to have a kick out of teasing him and while Takemura had found it annoying at the time, but even now under all his grievances, he could look back at it with some sort of melancholy. He never acted that way with anyone else. But maybe their pointless squabbles was the reason that V, against all known logic, came back for him in that crumbling building and saved his life, even though she looked like she was on her last legs.

Was this the reason that despite never talking to her again, that he never blocked her number? No matter what he said or what he felt about whatever possible friendship he and V had, he had intentionally left that connection hanging. A lonely phone number in his contacts, left untouched for years. And now that she was dead, now that the connection had snapped, Takemura had to admit...it did feel strangely empty to know that she was no longer on the other side.

As if the devil had spoken, the very phone in question rang. For a split second, Takemura thought it might have actually been the devil herself, but when he recognized the name, he immediately answered.

“Okada-san-” he started, but he was cut off.

“Ah, you finally answered. I was worried to think that you had fallen in a ditch somewhere and had gotten eaten alive by the swewer rats.” the voice of a grizzled woman answered.

“I apologize,  _ Okada-san _ . I was attending to...personal matters.” He answered, trying to hide the troubled tone in his voice.

“Hmm.” Wakako didn’t sound impressed, but she continued. “Regardless of your inability to answer your phone, the last client was pleased with your work and has come up with another proposal. Come by with your little friend and we shall discuss details.”

“I see. That sounds appropriate, thank you.” He said with the utmost respect. She  _ had  _ provided him an opportunity here, even if she scared the devil out of him sometimes. “Oda and I will visit you as soon as possible.”

“I hope that means  _ sooner,  _ than later.” The fixer scoffed. And with that the call ended.

Takemura sighed and went to message Oda about the new job offer. His friendship with Oda had been neutral at best, rocky at the worst. Oda would never forgive him for Hanako, but they were managing fine for now, with some difficulties. It was clear that despite hostility, they did work well together, though Oda was still looking for ways to repair the relationship between Arasaka, but it was clear that the corporation had drawn a line in the sand. There was no place for them there right now, or ever; they would be attacked on sight if they ever saw them again. 

But in a way, as much as he hated to admit, this arrangement gave them a chance to start anew. Huh...maybe that’s what V meant.

“Hmm. At one time, maybe we were friends after all.” Takemura muttered under his breath. He had enough of sitting here. He needed to prepare for his meeting with Wakako. 

He stood up to walk away, but as the grizzled man went on his way, a distinctive meow broke his step. Taken off guard, Takemura turned to see a very familiar hairless feline, maybe the _same_ one he had seen with V long ago. The cat meowed again, staring at him with inhuman eyes, showing it's teeth in an almost human-like smile. It locked eyes with him a few seconds more before finally jumping off the bench he had once sat, running into the bushes nearby. For a moment, he continued to stare at the empty bench before grunting, finally turning away.

“Perhaps in another life, we can sit and talk again, for old time’s sake...V.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a SUPER fun (and difficult) chapter to write, mostly because it's written in the perspective of someone who 'hates' V. So in this timeline, V went back to save Takemura but still went for the Star ending. Also unlike all the other goodbye messages, V had actually sent this message to Goro when she was alive, but he only addressed it when he found out she died. I also had fun calling back to Zen Master; I needed someone for Takemura to talk out his stance on V's death and Zen Master just seemed so perfect for the role.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there, thanks for reading my fanfic! Just a note, even though this story says 'complete', it's not REALLY complete if you know what I mean. I just left it as such because there's no real 'ending' to this story, just a series of oneshots in the same timeline and universe. I don't really know how many chapters this anthology series will have, but even if I don't post anymore, it can feel 'complete'.
> 
> EDIT: This story has been renamed 'The Star - The Anthology' to better fit the name of the story. I also updated the showcasing summary.


End file.
